In the olden times, society and governments alike had no mechanism in place to prevent child labour, which is a practice that is illegal nowadays. Children as young as 10 or 12 were sent to work in mines, which, as the nature of the employment goes, is extremely dangerous and merits certain physical and mental standards for an individual to be part of such a team. And yet, there were mines where such young ones worked, and occasionally, there were tragic incidents which finally opened the world to the discussion about the evils of child labour.
In this blog post, we will be discussing a related topic for both parents and students looking for valuable part-time employment that both instils a professional sense and skill in them as well as earn them money: this is everything you need to know about the legal age of employment in Ontario, as per the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). It is important to note beforehand that these matters do not come under the legal ambit of the ESA or Employment Standards Act, which usually covers most aspects of employability and employment in Ontario.
Now, let us start by delving deep into the legal age of employability in Ontario.
The legal working age in Ontario
A commonly-held misconception among people is the fact that an individual needs to be atleast 16 years old to be legally allowed to work in certain professions and workplaces. While the latter part of that misconception is true to some extent, the age is not. As per the OHSA, the minimum age to work most jobs is 14 years old, wherein the employee needs to be 14 at the time of the employment application.
However, there is an important aspect to such a restriction: being 14 years old does not open up the entirety of the job market to an applicant. Instead, jobs which are considered ‘safe’ are usually allowed to have employees from said age bracket, and jobs deemed more ‘dangerous’ or ‘with a high risk of physical or mental impairment’ are not allowed to hire people from the age bracket.
Which jobs are barred at the minimum age?
As explained beforehand, certain jobs and industries are barred for people at the minimum age of employment in Ontario. A good example of jobs considered generally ‘unsafe’ or ‘with a high risk of inherent danger’ is related to the industries of construction and mining, where there is an inherent danger of a life-threatening accident, or it may have certain specialised physical or mental demands that people in said age bracket might not comply with.
Based on the age, let us take you through the industries and employment options available for people.
- Minimum legal age (14 years old): At the minimum legal age, employment options and workplaces are limited to a few options, once again considered safe. These include places like offices, stores, arenas, shopping malls, and restaurant serving areas, where the role must take into consideration the physical and mental well-being of the employee at such a young age.
- 15 years old: For youngsters 15 years old, a lot of other options are available for gainful employment besides those available at the 14-year-old mark. Some of the options include manufacturing or assembly plants, repair shops, restaurant kitchens, automotive services and garages, shipping and receiving areas in grocery stores, laundries and laundromats, as well as warehouses (in an administrative role, not a physical one).
- 16 years old: According to the legislation and regulations put forth by the OHSA, 16 years old is the cutoff date for employability in the mining and construction sector, which is when people of that age may be able to join these industries (albeit in a different scope than others). These options include a mining plant or a surface mine, excluding the working face. Furthermore, within the construction sector, nearly all avenues are open save for a specific one: the role of a shaft attendant. Other specifics that are open to 16-year-olds are different roles within a logging operation.
- 18 years old: People 18 years old are allowed to work in an underground mine or at the working face of a surface mine. They are also allowed to perform in jobs where the inherent risk is considerable, including window cleaning and offshore oil drilling platforms, including on or from an oil or gas rig. This is usually a time when many students actually transition into a proper job, aside from part-time jobs or roles where not much effort is required.
- 19 years old: This is an age when most people can be trusted with additional responsibility and an advanced scope of employability. This is also an age where a person of said age can work as a shaft attendant in the mining industry, with the role allowing for the attendant to be in the presence of a hoist which is being used for the mining or construction project.
Other relevant details: minimum employability age
While the OHSA allows children as young as 14 years old to be employed in certain places and in certain roles, other considerations need to be kept in mind. This includes education, which is an obligation for those under 18. Aside from certain exceptional cases and scenarios, the Ontario Education Act states that children must attend school till the age of 18 and subsequently forbids employers from employing children under 16 during school hours. This means that within a certain time period, an employer may not have a young person at their place of business, where said person is supposed to be in school.
Minimum wage
Student minimum wage applies to students who are under the age of 18 and work 28 hours or less a week during the school term. This includes scheduled school breaks and summer holidays. Students who work more than 28 hours a week during school are entitled to the general minimum wage.
Conclusion
The Ontario OHSA is very stringent in its requirements against the employment of people younger than a certain age and considers the attainment of education as the primary purpose for which a person in the demographic ought to spend a good majority of their time. For meaningful and gainful employment, certain age brackets allow certain jobs in specific roles, which need to be followed by both the employer and the employee.
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